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Operation Ghostblade
Operation Ghostblade was a preliminary mission within the larger Triot Campaign (363.M41) that was launched to assess the Orknoid forces on Triot and disrupt them before the primary Imperial planetfall. The operation was a great success and identified many important Ork targets, strongholds, and concentrations across Triot. The mission's sabotage efforts immediately preceding the Imperial planetfall also ruined most greenskin attempts to counterttack in the opening stages of the campaign, allowing the Imperium to secure a large beachhead from which they would go on to reclaim the entire planet. Background A reclamation of Triot had been planned for several years by 363.M41, but a major point of contention amongst strategists was a complete lack of up-do-date intelligence on the massive orknoid infestation that had overrun the planet. To rectify this, the Ghosts of Retribution arranged Operation Ghostblade. The mission's objectives were, in order of precedence: *'Alpha '- Do not make local orks aware of the incoming invasion or presence of Astartes. Can only be contravened to achieve critical objectives or successes. *'Beta '- Identify disposition of all enemy forces include size and number of klans, warbosses, mekboys, prominent nobs, etc. Not to interfere with Objective Alpha unless by determination of Mission Leader *'Gamma '- Identify all remaining human assets on planet. Gather information from them and attempt to organize them to support incoming invasion if feasible. Not to interfere with previous objectives unless by determination of Mission Leader *'Delta' - Prepare demolition charges near critical enemy assets (e.g. Mekboy Kamps) to blow at time of invasion. Place beacons and teleport homers near critical assets to be seized in first wave (e.g. starports, prometheum refineries, etc). Not to interfere with previous objectives unless by determination of Mission Leader *'Epsilon' - Attempt to sow discord amongst local Ork klans by assassination then leaving icons from rival Ork klans to promote infighting. Not to interfere with previous objectives unless by determination of Mission Leader For this mission Chapter Master selected Tenth Captain & Shadow Master Geron to lead his entire squad of Ghost Company Revenants along with 50 Scouts of the Tenth Company. Description 'Planetfall' The operation force entered Triot six months prior to the planned invastion date, descending onto Triot via extra-orbital drop pod insertion in the midst of a meteor shower to disguise their heat trails. The landing went perfectly with no loss of assets into the middle of the deep wilds of the northern half of the continent of Surim. 'Operations' Captain Geron quickly began splitting apart his force and sending each element on long term, long rage scouting missions. For the first three months of the operation the Scouts scoured the continent tirelessly, each five-man squad marching over 200km each day. They mapped terrain, landmarks, and orknoid concentrations, identifying several different tribes acros the planet while remaining completely unseen themselves. Geron meanwhile made contact with the Triotian Resistance, Scattered human enclaves that had lived outside of the Triot Continuation Council-ruled territory located further south in the Surimnius mountain range and battled constantly agains both Orks and the elements for survival. Geron brought together around 3,000 resistance fighters together, and they would prove vital in the latter stages of the Operation. Once the Ork forces had been scouted as fully as possible the Operation force began offensive actions, but carefully limited to keep their presence secret. Ork hunting parties & supply columns were ambushed without survivors, minor warbosses were assassinated without witnesses, and discord was sown amongst the greenskins. However the Operation's most critical missions came just before the Imperial Planetfall of the Triot Reclamation itself. Geron received a signal before the Imperial Reclamation Fleet set course for Triot and manouevred his forces into position, his force split up across over a dozen critical targets including bridges & Orknoid anti-orbital defences. Coordinating the operations over hundreds of miles was no easy task, but Captain Geron ensured that everything was perfectly in place before the fleet arrived in the system. Finally the Reclamation Fleet arrived in the Triot System, and as the first landing craft began to approach Triot's northern pole the orks were struck hard in several critical regions near the landing zone by Operation Ghostblade. Triotian Resistance fighters launched diversionary attacks on dozens of ork installations, drawing out the greenskins & suffering some serious casualties in the process while the Astartes could do their work. Thanks to the heroism of the Resistance fighters the Astartes force was able to succeed in several prominent objectives. Revenant Kargos and several Scouts blew apart a cluster of Orknoid orbit defence lasers, while Revenant Prekan led an assault on the Warboss in charge of the nearest unified wartribe to the landing zones, tearing the greenskins' spine out with his bare gauntlet. Elsewhere, Revenant Turiel eliminated an entire crew of powerful Big Meks after resistance fighters drew them into sight of the marine's stalker bolter. Revenant Xonius and ten Scouts demolished a dozen bridges across a critical region as nearby orks were distracted by resistance offensives. Revenants Geron & Xenya infiltrated the stronghold of the most powerful Weirdboy on the northern subcontinent, and after Geron dispatched several guards Xenya eliminated the weirdboy in its sleep, the Blank utterly invisible to the Ork psyker in every way. These operations - among others - served to throw Orks across the entirety of northern Surim into disarray. Many smaller tribes began fighting each other, accusing each other of sabotage, while even the larger regional tribes were too preoccupied with internal power vaccums & resulting struggles to offer any resistance to the mass Imperial landings that rapidly consumed the northern polar regions of Triot. Their jobs done, the Astartes and surviving resistance fighters laid low in Northern Surim until the Imperial battle lines reached them and finally brought them respite. Aftermath For the Ghosts of Retribution Operation Ghostblade was another successful mission, reaffirming the effectiveness of the Ghost Company and serving as excellent experience for dozens of Scouts. The Chapter suffered absolutely no casualties throughout the Operation and it ranked as one of the most flawless missions ever conducted by the Chapter. The success of Operation Ghostblade ensured that the Triot Campaign's planetfall - often one of the costliest phases of any invasion - was achieved within a matter of days and with minimal casualties. Meanwhile the Triotian Resistance fighters suffered a severe KIA rate of 57% in the process of their diversionary operations. Following the Liberation of Triot surviving resistance fighters were rewarded & celebrated immensely by the Triotian people, and several rose to high stations in the planet's reformed government. Category:Chapter Operations Category:Ground Battles